THIS INVENTION relates to the packaging of aqueous liquids. More particularly, the invention relates to a method of packaging an aqueous liquid to produce a liquid pack, to a liquid pack comprising a packaged aqueous liquid, and to a device for forming part of the pack, the method, pack and device being particularly suitable for, but not restricted to, the packaging of mineral water.
By mineral water is meant water from a natural deposit such as a spring, and which has been extracted from the deposit for human consumption, but has not been treated chemically. Thus, for example, mineral water has not been chlorinated or deionised. Such mineral water is sometimes referred to as natural water or spring water, as it is of natural origin and is often found in springs. Mere physical treatment thereof, such as filtration or ultra-violet irradiation thereof for purification thereof, does not alter its character as mineral water, provided that there is no chemical treatment thereof.
The Applicant is aware of the Patent Abstracts of Japan (PAJ Abstracts) of JP 60 143889 A, JP 62 186992 A and JP 02 017992 A, and is also aware of the Derwent Abstract of CN 1 089 922 A, being abstracts of Japanese and Chinese patent applications respectively. The PAJ Abstract of JP 60 143889 A discloses a liquid pack comprising a container for holding a liquid and having a closable opening, water in the container and stones having water-soluble ions sorbed thereon, the stones being contained within a porous receptacle. The PAJ Abstract of JP 62 186992 A and the Derwent Abstract of CN 1 089 922 A both disclose porous insoluble bags containing broken or powdered mineral material such as stone wherefrom, when the bags are immersed in water, soluble ions are extracted from the mineral material into the water. Finally, the PAJ Abstract of JP 02 01 7992 A also discloses that minerals can be eluted from insoluble rocks into water to increase the mineral content thereof.
According to the invention there is provided a method of packaging an aqueous liquid, the method including the steps of:
charging a charge of the liquid through a closable opening into a container therefor;
inserting, through the opening into the container and into contact with the liquid, a source of inorganic ions which are soluble in the liquid, the source comprising a carrier for said ions which is of a solid material which is insoluble in the liquid and has said ions sorbed thereto; and
closing the opening to retain the liquid and source in the container, the method including, prior to the inserting of the source into the container, obtaining the source as rock from a rock deposit of a type found naturally in contact with mineral water deposits; and the method including, prior to inserting the source into the container, enclosing the source in a receptacle which is pervious to the liquid and in which receptacle the source is held captive, the method including inserting the receptacle, with the source held captive therein, into the container.
As used herein, the expression whereby ions are stated to be sorbed to the solid material means that they are absorbed therein and/or adsorbed thereon.
Closing the closable opening of the container may be by means of a closure for the opening, and may take place after the liquid has been charged into the container and after the source has been inserted into the container.
The method may include, prior to the charging of the liquid into the container, extracting the liquid, as mineral water, from a natural deposit of mineral water in contact with rock. The method may further include charging the mineral water as chemically untreated mineral water into the container, i.e. after the liquid has undergone no more than physical treatment such as filtering.
Instead, the method may include, prior to the charging of the liquid into the container, chemically treating the liquid to obtain chemically purified water which is then charged into the container.
In particular, the obtaining of the rock may be from a rock deposit in contact with a mineral water deposit. In this case the method may include, prior to charging the liquid into the container, extracting the liquid, as mineral water, from said mineral water deposit in contact with the rock deposit.
In particular, inserting the receptacle into the container may comprise resiliently deforming the receptacle to reduce the size of the receptacle, from a size which prevents the receptacle from passing through the container opening, to a reduced size which permits the receptacle to pass through the container opening, and then allowing the receptacle resiliently to reassume its unreduced size, so that the receptacle is held captive in the container.
Further according to the invention there is provided a liquid pack, the pack comprising:
a container for holding a liquid and having a closable opening; and
a source of inorganic ions contained in the container in contact with the liquid, the ions being soluble in the liquid and the source comprising a carrier for said ions which is of solid material which is insoluble in the liquid and has said ions sorbed thereto, the source being rock from a rock deposit of a type found naturally in contact with mineral water deposits; and the source being enclosed in a receptacle which is pervious to the liquid and in which receptacle the source is held captive.
The pack may include a closure, such as a lid, cork, stopper or cap, whereby the closable opening is closed.
The liquid may be chemically untreated mineral water. Instead, the liquid may be chemically treated water.
In particular, the water in the container may be extracted from a mineral water deposit which was in contact with said rock deposit. In other words, the liquid pack may contain mineral water from a mineral water deposit which is in contact with a rock deposit, the source in the container being rock from said rock deposit.
The receptacle may be flexibly deformable. In this case the receptacle may be of resilient material, being of a size which prevents it, in its undeformed state, from passing through the container opening, the receptacle being held captive in the container. The receptacle may be in the form of a cage, for example having openings through a wall thereof, so that it is net-like or foraminous in character. Instead, the receptacle may be of porous material, having pores, for example, of a more or less microscopic scale, through which the liquid is permeable, at least some of the ions dissolved in the liquid being permeable through the porous material. If desired the pore size of the material may be chosen to be selectively permeable to certain of the soluble ions sorbed to the source.
The soluble inorganic ions may include at least one cation selected from the group consisting of the cations of sodium, potassium, magnesium and calcium.
The invention extends further to a device for forming part of a pack as described above, the device comprising a source of inorganic ions, the ions being soluble in an aqueous liquid and the source comprising a carrier for said ions which is of solid material which is insoluble in aqueous liquids and has said ions sorbed thereto, and a receptacle which is pervious to aqueous liquids, the source being held captive in the receptacle, and the source being rock obtained from a rock deposit of a type found naturally in contact with mineral water deposits.
As indicated above, the solid source comprising the carrier may be of natural origin and may be a natural insoluble solid material which carries inorganic ions. Instead, the solid source may be a manufactured insoluble solid material that can sorb (absorb and/or adsorb) inorganic ions. The inorganic ions may be selectively added to the carrier, particularly if it is a manufactured solid material. The ions may be of sulphates, carbonates or the like, derived from the salts of magnesium, potassium, calcium or the like. The ions may be adsorbed on and/or absorbed in the carrier.
In a preferred embodiment of the invention, where the liquid is mineral water, the carrier is, as indicated above, a piece or fragment of rock found naturally at a place where the mineral water naturally occurs. Conveniently, the natural piece or fragment of rock has been in close proximity with or in contact with, the mineral water in its natural state. The piece of rock may be cleaned and/or sterilised prior to insertion into the liquid container; and the mineral water may be cleaned by filtering.
In a further embodiment of the invention, where the liquid is chemically treated water, the carrier may be a piece or fragment of natural rock carrying the abovementioned ions and/or having one or more of the abovementioned ions adsorbed on it and/or absorbed in it. It will be appreciated that such chemically treated water, when in contact with the rock, may assume a character more or less resembling that of natural spring mineral water found where such rock naturally occurs.
A receptacle which is pervious to the liquid and to at least some of said inorganic ions, may contain or enclose the source or carrier. In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the receptacle is of a size and/or shape to prevent it from escaping from the liquid container with which it is associated in the pack, via the container opening, once it has been inserted into the container. The preferred receptacle may be of a resiliently deformable material and may have openings defined in its wall. More preferably, the receptacle is in the form of a cage for the source. The cage may have protrusions arranged on, and extending outwardly from, its outer surface. The cage may be of any suitable shape, in particular it may be spherical.
The liquid will typically be for human consumption. Preferably, the liquid is a mineral water as defined above but may be any other potable aqueous liquid, including water which has been treated chemically to purify it.
It will be appreciated that in another embodiment the container and the receptacle may be of an integral or one-piece unitary construction, the container being partitioned to define separate regions, one of which comprises the receptacle.
The invention is now described, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying diagrammatic drawings.